Wednesday, September 2, 2009

After all the blood, ink, and tears I've put into this blog and my job as a sales assistant in the wild and crazy world of publishing, CBS has decided to air a show about my life. And by "air a show about my life" I mean "air a show about the world of book publishing":

The project, tentatively titled "Open Books," has received a pilot commitment from the network. It revolves around book editor June and her circle of friends.

"Books" is inspired by the time Lerner spent as a temp in the publishing world at the beginning of her career and by the experiences of her sister Betsy, who worked as a book editor for 15 years before becoming a literary agent.

I have no idea how accurate or entertaining this show will be, but I think it's worth seeing the pilot. No word on a date for said pilot, but I'll keep you posted. On the one hand, I'm hopeful that a really good show about the publishing world will not only make for great TV, but will also educate people about how the industry works and, to some extent, get people excited about reading. On the other hand, if it's mega boring, it might do more harm than good. Thoughts?

I got similarly excited about the supermarket-themed show 10 Items or Less, but was disappointed when I watched the pilot only to see a group of stock sitcom characters that happened to have their setting be in a supermarket.

I worked in various supermarkets for about 6 years of my life ... the characters that are employed there are leagues more interesting than the stock sitcom ones. Also more vulgar, but that's besides the point.

I agree with you that it might be cool, Eric, but my fear is that Hollywood will do something similar with this "Open Books" show. They'll ignore the day-to-day of publishing, instead focusing on the drama of the main character's love life and the love lives of her friends. All stuff that's been done before and not nearly as interesting as getting an inside look at the industry.

There is potential! Whether they decide to go the Hollywood route or not. I don't know about you, but I find "Castle" to be wildly entertaining, and well-written. I'm eager to see which way they take "Open Books".

I can't wait to see it! As you said, hopefully it will get more people interested in reading - I think more people need to learn about the entire process from the beginning to a book landing on the shelf at the store!

I'll guarantee sex and violence... somewhere, somehow. I see Sex in the City meets - loose cannon politically correct female editors. One will court the rich and famous (celebs), the other will camp out with the underbelly denizens of N.Y. City! (Ya know, like the weirdos and wackos - interesting, if strage, people)!

I will watch the pilot for anything, and I mean ANYTHING. I especially like sitcoms. A pilot uses the best jokes or special effects. There was a sitcom about a bookstore a few years back that didn't last one season, sadly that show was mostly a one trick pony.

About

My name is Eric, and I work in the sales department of a publishing house. There are a lot of blogs out there that cover the agenting and editorial aspects of book publishing, but here you'll find out what happens to your book after it's been acquired.

On Fridays, recovering publishing insider Laura writes round-ups. She also posts over on Combreviations.

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